


Leftovers

by chararii



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, One-Sided Relationship, Platonic Relationships, Post-Canon, Sakura and Sasuke being bros in misery, Unhappy marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:54:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27924115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chararii/pseuds/chararii
Summary: They stand back to back, hands interlocked as their eyes rest on what will forever remain firmly out of reach.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura/?, Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke/?
Comments: 12
Kudos: 38





	Leftovers

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short thing I started ages ago and my interpretation of their relationship since the canon development never made much (any) sense to me.

“I don't love you.”

The steady sound of a knife meeting a cutting board didn't stop, didn't falter. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Clothing rustled as shoes hit pristine white kitchen tiles.

“Did you hear me?” Carrots were dumped in a bowl, along with tomato slices that already rested on top of vibrant green salad. Tick-tock, tick-tock.

“I'm going to get rid of that clock. It's driving me insane.” Two hands grabbed dainty shoulders and forced them to turn around. Black eyes drilled themselves into jade, brows furrowed, face not angry as one might have expected but quiet and insisting.

“Sakura,” Sasuke said as he stared at her, taking in the emptiness in her features. After a second the void disappeared only to be replaced by the smallest of her smiles, one he'd seen few times over the years and always when she thought he wasn't paying attention.

“I don't love you.” She closed her eyes for a moment, then huffed a chuckle so quiet he had to strain his ears to hear it in the first place. She moved a small hand on top of his left, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I know,” she replied and smiled once more before gently grasping his arms and removing them from her shoulders. Turning around, she focused once more on preparing the salad, hitting the cutting board with her knife in tune with the ticking of their kitchen clock.

“Why did we marry?” Sasuke asked then, still behind her, watching her steady movements. He dimly recalled his mother's cooking and comparing her movements to Sakura's, found they were nearly identical.

“Because you proposed.” Dumping the rest of the vegetables on top of the salad, Sakura grabbed the bowl and placed it inside the fridge. Wiping her hands on her apron, she passed by Sasuke, briefly bumping her shoulder against his.

“We were the leftovers. We just did what was natural,” she added before untying the apron and checking her image in the mirror. Pleased that no stains had made it onto her favourite red dress, Sakura moved her fingers through her hair to make sure it fell down her back just the way she liked it.

“It was a mistake.” She turned around, smiled at the dark-haired man and gave his forearm a gentle squeeze.

“Sarada wasn't.” He stilled briefly, then let out a long sigh.

“No... she wasn't.” Silence fell over the two of them as Sakura re-applied a faint hint of pink to her lips before smudging it with her thumb. Sasuke lingered, dark, tall and still.

“Who is it?” the Uchiha asked eventually, prompting Sakura to turn in his direction, with surprise written all over her features.

“Does it matter?” she retorted, genuinely curious. He'd never asked before after all. She had never offered either. It had never been of actual _interest_.

“You know mine,” Sasuke offered with a shrug and Sakura pursed her lips, realising that her husband in name only had a point. So she raised a single finger to her mouth, pressed it against her lips in the universal gesture for silence. Sasuke stared at her for a moment, then another before his dark eyes lit up in understanding.

“All these years?” he asked with a raised brow. Sakura shrugged and returned to fixing her hair, only satisfied once not a single strand of hair was out of place. Growing it out had been a good decision. It suited her.

“When will you be back?” Sasuke reached for her collar and smoothed it, rubbed his thumb over the Uchiha crest stitched onto the cloth. She had called him silly when he had all her outfits altered to display his clan's symbol. 'Fitting for the Uchiha matriarch', he had claimed.

“I don't know. A few weeks. Perhaps even months.” Sakura nodded and accepted his hand, allowed him to escort her through the door. A habit he had gotten from his father.

“Will you be alright?” She smiled, nodding her head. She had long since gotten used to Sasuke's adventures. A duty that led him out of the village more often than not. She had always been able to cope with their unfortunate decision better than him. Sasuke couldn't stick around to see what had run through his fingers like sand.

“Always,” she replied and threaded her fingers through his as they wandered the streets of Konoha, towards the Uzumaki residence where Sasuke's farewell party was held. Everyone would be there. All those married and joyful, the ones with children and loved ones. The ones with happy, fulfilled lives.

“Thank you, Sakura,” he said and she leaned against him in silent reassurance. They would never be quite like the others, would always smile and stand slightly apart, making mandatory appearances while deep down wishing they could leave.

“Don't worry about it,” Sakura murmured with a small smile. It wasn't perfect and not what thirteen-year-old her would have wanted but for better or worse, here they were and this was their life.

Hours later, when Sasuke was once more out in the world and Sakura laid in bed with Sarada only a few rooms away, she thought of the glittering lights, the smell of food and alcohol, and eyes that she wished rested on her and her alone. She fell asleep and dreamt of a world in which she and Sasuke floated above the clouds, never to be tied to the ground again.

When she woke up the next morning the dreams were gone but the memory remained.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this oneshot with very specific characters in mind that Sasuke and Sakura are in love with respectively. I left it ambiguous on purpose and the hint as to who Sakura's is is so incredibly obscure I don't expect anyone to ever get it.


End file.
